Shivers V

Shivers V
edited by Richard Chizmar

Trade Paperback: $20

About the Book:
Cemetery Dance Publications is proud to announce the fifth entry in this award-nominated and best-selling anthology series!

Shivers V contains over twenty short stories from today's most popular authors, including Stewart O'Nan, Graham Masterton, Mick Garris, Chet Williamson, Simon Clark, R. Patrick Gates, Ronald Kelly, John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow, Al Sarrantonio, Rick Hautala, Kealan Patrick Burke, Robin Furth, Nick Mamatas, Scott Nicholson, Del James, and many others.

Featuring original dark fiction with a handful of rare reprints, Shivers V is available only as a beautiful perfect-bound trade paperback from Cemetery Dance Publications.

Table of Contents:
"The Albright Sextuplets" by Norman Prentiss
"The Burn Victim" by Sarah Langan
"Each Step I Take is in Darkness" by Robert Morrish
"Forever Gramma" by Mick Garris
"Good Fences" by Scott Nicholson
"Hazel [Reduxed]" by John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow
"Cumberland Furnace" by Ronald Kelly
"The Coroner's Daughter" by Robin Furth
"Magpie" by Robin Furth
"One More Day" by Brian Freeman
"Long Overdue" by Sarah Pinborough
"Summer of '77" by Stewart O'Nan
"Dog Days" by Graham Masterton
"Mysteries of the Cure" by Nicholas Kaufmann
"Pondlife" by Simon Clark
"The Forever Long Snake of Olan Walker" by Steve Vernon
"Cookies" by Al Sarrantonio
"Dead Head" by R. Patrick Gates
"The Pitch" by Nick Mamatas
"The Stench" by Steve Resnic Tem
"True Glass" by Rick Hautala
"Marley's Cat" by Chet Williamson
"The Fall" by Del James
"The Acquaintance" by Kealan Patrick Burke

"Chizmar's fifth Shivers compilation, the best to date, features 24 stories and poems notable for their thematic breadth. In Steve Vernon's lyrical "The Forever Long Snake of Olan Walker," a superbly creepy period gothic, an imprisoned conjure man gets his nasty revenge against an Alabama chain-gang work farm boss. Dark suspense offerings range from Sarah Langan's gritty and gruesome "The Burn Victim" to Scott Nicholson's wryly macabre "Good Fences." Other standouts include a fractured fairy tale from Al Sarrantonio ("The Cookie Man"), a dark riff on Dickens from Chet Williamson ("Marley's Cat") and a disturbing look into a murderously unhinged mind by Stewart O'Nan ("Summer of '77"). The variety of the contents ensures that there is something for every horror lover, and for the most part these tales deliver the shivers they promise."
— Publishers Weekly

"As the editor of horror fiction’s flagship periodical, Cemetery Dance, Chizmar has developed such a keen eye for talent that each new Shivers anthology is an event worth celebrating. As in previous editions, Chizmar avoids a single-theme approach in favor of casting the widest possible net over the genre’s many thematic and stylistic offerings. The best of the bunch here take common fantasy and horror motifs and morph them into fascinating new variations. For David Lynch-style horror, there’s Norman Prentiss’ “The Albright Sextuplets,” recounting a deliveryman’s discovery of a monstrously deformed baby hidden from the limelight in a celebrity sextuplet family. For edge-of-the-seat suspense, there’s Robert Morrish’s “Each Step I Take Is in Darkness,” about a spelunker’s encounter with the malevolent creatures inhabiting a Mexican cave. Scott Nicholson’s darkly humorous “Good Fences” puts two neighbors’ feud over fences into the category of subtle murder mystery. The volume’s 24 entries also include poetry, fractured fairy tales, and a serial killer’s reminiscences. Once again, Shivers serves as a showcase for the horror genre’s best craftsmen."
— Carl Hays, Booklist

"Boasting stories from a wide range of big names (Stewart O'Nan, among others), rising stars (Stoker-winner Sarah Langan, Nick Mamatas) and old favorites (Rick Hautala, John Skipp, and more), and edited by Cemetery Dance head honcho Richard Chizmar, one would expect great things from the collection... On the whole, the book is a worthwhile read, and there's more than enough in here to keep horror fans of various tastes satisfied... For an anthology with this diverse a base and author list, that's a real win."
— Richard Dansky, Green Man Review

"Shivers, edited by Richard Chizmar, now at its fifth installment, is a fortunate, consistently good series offering, at (ir)regular intervals, a tour of what the current horror scene produces, in terms of short stories, from both sides of the ocean. "
— Mario Guslandi, The Agony Column

"The book runs the gamut from subtle horror that sneaks up on the reader to stories that have all the subtlety of a swift kick in the nuts. In my humble opinion, this is why the Shivers series has enjoyed so much success over the years — there's something for everyone... Shivers V is another winner — a book that every horror fan should own. It easily earns an 8 out of 10 for its combination of great authors, powerful stories, and cheap price tag."
— Andrew Monge, The Horror Drive-In

Richard Chizmar is the founder and publisher/editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than a dozen anthologies, including The Best of Cemetery Dance, The Earth Strikes Back, Night Visions 10, October Dreams (with Robert Morrish), and the Shivers series. Together Chizmar and Johnathon Schaech founded production company Chesapeake Films, and they've written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Showtime, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, NBC, and many other companies. Their first projects include adaptations of Stephen King's From a Buick 8, Douglas Clegg's The Hour Before Dark, Stephen King's and Peter Straub's Black House, Ed Gorman's The Poker Club, as well as episodes of Showtime's Masters of Horror and NBC's Fear Itself.

Published as:
• Available exclusively as a trade paperback from Cemetery Dance Publications.

Artwork